News

News

At this crucial time for democratization efforts in several countries, UNDEF hosted a seminar on 9 May to present the findings of a vast study about how well the support family is supporting the many actors in the field. more >>

How can civil society in Russia work more effectively with the authorities to achieve positive change? UNDEF funds an initiative to build skills among Russian NGOs that lack experience in interacting with officialdom and in communicating their message effectively. more >>

'The Doers of Democracy', an exhibition of photographs organized by UNDEF, was displayed in the Visitors' Lobby at UN Headquarters in New York from 9 May to 15 July 2011, and at the Palais des Nations in Geneva in September 2011. The photographs, artifacts and publications in the exhibition all come from UNDEF projects around the world. more >>

Welcome to the latest issue of UNDEF Update, the newsletter of the United Nations Democracy Fund.
This electronic quarterly provides a user-friendly snapshot of what we do, how we work and why.
To view the latest issue, please click here.
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Cyber attacks by the state, politically-motivated censorship, and government control over internet infrastructure have emerged as especially prominent threats to freedom in the internet, according to an UNDEF-funded report compiled by Freedom House. To illuminate the emerging threats to internet freedom and identify areas of opportunity, Freedom House created a unique methodology to assess the full range of elements that comprise digital media freedom. more >>

A compendium of ten exemplary UNDEF-funded projects was compiled by Dr. Lincoln Mitchell of Columbia University. It draws on his meta-evaluation of UNDEF's First Round of Funding, and comprises projects in Guatemala, Mongolia, Nepal, Nigeria, Panama, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Thailand, as well as two global projects.
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The following is an excerpt from testimony by Ted Piccone, Deputy Director for Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, to the hearing on "Reforming the United Nations" held by the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs on 3 March: more >>

After 12 years of civil war in Burundi, the challenge is to keep addressing the divisive factors that drove the country's brutal armed conflict, while finding ways to nurture the country's fragile democracy. An UNDEF funded initiative trains women to take up leadership positions, and thus improve governance in the country as a whole. The project, implemented by Search for Common Ground, just launched a new radio series specifically for and about women leaders in the public and private sector. more >>

Reflecting the crucial and historic era for democratization efforts worldwide, the list of countries contributing to UNDEF grew to 40 in February 2011, with Argentina becoming the latest donor to the Fund. UNDEF depends entirely on voluntary contributions from Member States and is supported by a range of countries of varying size and income level, led by co-founders the United States and India, who remain the two biggest donors. The list includes several non-traditional donors -- four in Africa, five in Latin America and six in Asia. more >>